(WSIL) -- During Governor JB Pritzker's budget address last week, he proposed a one-year freeze on the gas tax to save consumers money in Illinois.Ìý
Pritzker’s plan would freeze the motor fuel tax at 39.2 cents per gallon. It was supposed to increase to 41.4 cents on July 1. He says this would save families $135 million.
This would mean, if you were fueling up, you also might save about $1 a month, if you fill up once a week.Ìý
But road proponents and Senate Republicans disagree with this plan, because it would be a $135 million hit to the Road Fund.Ìý
So Senate Republicans have come up with their own proposal for the gas tax.
Their proposal would cut the gas sales tax by 1 percent, lowering it from 6.25% to 5.25% for one year. The plan also increases the Road Fund disbursement from the state's general fund from 32% to 53%.
Senate GOP members say this would make up for the lost revenue at the pump, and result in an $80 million increase to the Road Fund more over what it would receive under the original sales tax percentage of 6.25%.
So under the members' plan, assuming gas is $3.00/gallon, consumers would save $171 million. The amount would increase as gas prices increase.Ìý(This is based on 5,712,574,110 gallons of motor fuels, which was the )
Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) opposed the governor's plan, calling it a "gimmick."
“I appreciate that the Governor somewhat recognized the need to get our fiscal house in order as well as the need to provide financial relief to our taxpayers. However, the people of our state need more than his one-year, election gimmick relief proposals. They deserve a permanent tax relief plan that helps them keep up with inflation at the grocery store and ballooning property taxes."
Governor Pritzker is set to speak about the gas tax freeze proposal at 1:30 p.m. in Marion. You can watch the governor's full remarks on our website and .Ìý
